A scouting report of the Colorado Buffaloes and BYU Cougars ahead of Saturday’s game at Folsom Field in Boulder.
Colorado Buffaloes
Head coach: Deion Sanders, 3rd season (15-14, 42-20 career)
2025 season: 2-2, 0-1 Big 12
Last week: Beat Wyoming at home, 37-20
5 Buffs to Watch
WR Sincere Brown: CU’s big-play threat so far, he’s caught seven passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, including TD catches of 68 and 71 yards. Brown has caught 69 passes for 1,250 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career.
RB Dallan Hayden: Projected as a potential starter this year, he injured his hand in fall camp and missed the first three games. He came back last week and got into the game late, carrying the ball twice for 10 yards. He could have a bigger role this week. In his career, Hayden has rushed for 869 yards.
LB Reginald Hughes: Returned to the starting lineup last week and finished with eight tackles. He has 24 tackles and two QB hurries on the season. Since the start of last year (when he played for Jacksonville State), he’s posted 106 tackles in 17 games.
DL Amari McNeill: Started last week for the first time this season and had his best game of the year. He has seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss this season. During his three seasons at CU, McNeill has posted 14.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
WR Dre’lon Miller: Still waiting to bust loose, he’s caught just eight passes for 62 yards, but his big game is coming. Miller could also help in the backfield by getting some carries in the run game.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, right, speaks with an official, left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game against East Carolina in Greenville, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
BYU Cougars
Head coach: Kalani Sitake, 10th season (75-43)
2025 season: 3-0, 0-0 Big 12
Last week: Won at East Carolina, 34-13
5 Cougars to Watch
QB Bear Bachmeier: Enrolled at Stanford during the spring, but transferred to BYU this summer and won the starting job, becoming the first true freshman quarterback in school history to start the season opener. He has completed 66.7% of his passes for 518 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for four scores.
LB Isaiah Glasker: Led the Big 12 in tackles for loss (14.5) in 2024, while posting 70 total tackles. This season, he has 13 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
LB Jack Kelly: Former Weber State transfer was one of the Big 12’s top newcomers last year, posting 51 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks. This season he has 13 tackles, 4.5 TFLs and three sacks. In his career, he has 24.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles.
RB LJ Martin: Senior has rushed for 1,578 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career. This season, he has 342 yards and a touchdown, while posting 8.6 yards per carry. Not a major weapon as a receiver, but he has caught 23 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns in his career.
WR Chase Roberts: One of BYU’s top targets for three years, and a preseason selection on the All-Big 12 team. He’s caught 127 passes for 1,969 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career. He has 11 catches for 185 yards and a touchdown this season.
Sincere Brown #9 of the Colorado Buffaloes celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Wyoming Cowboys at Folsom Field on Sept. 20, 2025 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
When Colorado has the ball …
Last week, the Buffs finally got their offense into a rhythm. Quarterback Kaidon Salter found his groove as a passer and the Buffs posted a season-best 193 yards on the ground. Salter is a true dual threat and he’s got a lot of weapons around him at receiver; that finally showed up against Wyoming. Players and coaches said a big difference the past two weeks has been Salter stepping up as a leader. “I think he’s starting to embrace those things now, because those are the things that we keep wanting him to do and keep enforcing with him,” receivers coach Jason Phillips said. “You got to do these things, because this is what these guys are used to. So he’s starting to do that, and it’s starting to show.” Defensively, the Cougars are physical and haven’t allowed much this season. They haven’t played good offenses yet, but have given up just one touchdown and rank second nationally in rushing defense (allowing 44.3 yards per game). “They’re very, very disciplined,” CU receiver Joseph Williams said. “They’re a very disciplined group. They’re a good group. It’s probably the best group we played so far this year. We have to play fast, play physical. We can’t mess up. We gotta be on point against them, because they capitalize off our mistakes.”
BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier warms up against Stanford during pregame of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Jeffrey D. Allred)
When BYU has the ball …
It was a crazy offseason, as the Cougars lost quarterback Jake Retzlaff, a returning starter, over the summer. But, true freshman Bear Bachmeier has been very good in his place, impressing teammates with his poise. While he has thrown the ball well, BYU has been run-heavy to this point, with 56.7% of the snaps and 58.8% of the yards coming on the ground. BYU rotates several tight ends, which they’ll use in the passing game, but they’re also good blockers in a run game that features LJ Martin. CU’s defensive line, which has been hit with injuries, will be tested. The Buffs have also missed a lot of tackles, which has contributed to big plays by the opposition. Still, the Cougars have been impressed with the talent the Buffs have on defense. “This will be the most talented team we’ve played yet this year,” BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said. “A lot of team speed and they’re tough and really well coached. … We have tons of respect for these guys. We know they’re a good team and we’ve got to go play at their place.”
Special teams
Although CU had a field goal attempt blocked last week against Wyoming, it has excelled in the kicking game. Buck Buchanan has put 19 of 21 kickoffs out of the end zone for touchbacks. Punter Damon Greaves is third in the Big 12 in average (45.8) and has put seven punts inside the 20-yard line. And Alejandro Mata has been near perfect so far, going 3-for-4 on field goals and 13-for-13 on extra points. Freshman Quentin Gibson has averaged 26.2 yards on kickoff returns. While the Buffs have been very good, BYU has the best kicker in the Big 12 in Will Ferrin, the conference co-special teams player of the year in 2024. Ferrin is 8-for-8 on field goals and 14-for-14 on extra points. In his three seasons at BYU, he’s 43-of-49 (87.8%) on field goals. Punter Sam Vander Haar has averaged 44.1 yards per punt and has landed five of his eight kicks inside the 20. Parker Kingston is a dangerous punt returner, as the Buffs saw when he returned one for a touchdown in the Alamo Bowl in December.
Brigham Young linebacker Isaiah Glasker (16) motions to the student section during an NCAA college football game against Stanford, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
Notables
• CU and BYU will meet for the second time in less than a year, with BYU rolling to a 36-14 win in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. Prior to that, however, the teams hadn’t met in 36 years. The former Mountain States Conference rivals met 10 times from 1923-47, but just three times since. This will be BYU’s first trip to Boulder since Sept. 26, 1981.
• As of Friday afternoon, CU still had about 1,000 tickets available for Saturday’s game, which will include a drone show at halftime.
• Colorado leads the series against the Cougars, 8-4-1, but the Buffaloes’ last win came on Oct. 18, 1947, a 9-7 victory in Boulder. BYU has won the only three matchups since then.
• Having already lost to Houston two weeks ago in the Big 12 opener, CU is looking to avoid an 0-2 start in conference play. CU has started 0-2 in conference three of the last four years (with 2024 the only exception).
• Freshman Quentin Gibson has topped the 100-yard mark in kickoff returns in back-to-back games. He is the first Buff to do that since Marques Mosley in 2012.
• Since the start of the 2024 season, CU is 10-0 when scoring 30 points or more, and 1-6 when falling below the 30-point mark.
• Last year, BYU’s Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly combined for 24.5 TFLs, the most of any pair of Big 12 teammates.
• Former Colorado lineman Isaiah Jatta is the starting left tackle for the Cougars. A junior college All-American in 2022 at Snow (Utah) College, Jatta played the 2023 season at CU. He made one start on offense, but played just 47 snaps that year. Last year at BYU, he was a reserve before making two starts late in the year and then missing the last two games with injury. Of the regular starters, he is BYU’s highest-rated pass blockers on Pro Football Focus.